Why are we not surprised that Carly Fiorina’s fans have the best grammar, spelling and punctuation among the Republican presidential candidates and Donald Trump’s have the worst?Follow over the jump for a graphic from USA Today showing these findings.
That’s based on an analysis from Grammarly, an automated proofreading company, which evaluated the supporters of the GOP candidates. Fiorina’s fans had 6.3 errors per hundred words in their Facebook comments, while Trump’s backers had 12.6 errors per 100 words. Only comments of 15 words or more were analyzed, and Grammarly ignored common slang words and stylistic variations (for instance, the use of serial commas, using numerals instead of spelling out numbers, using contractions). In total, roughly 9,000 words were evaluated for each candidate.
In ascending order of misteaks . . . er, mistakes per 100 words, Ben Carson’s supporters were second with 6.6, Lindsay Graham and George Pataki with 7.2 each, Ted Cruz 7.7, John Kasich 7.7, Jeb Bush 7.9, Mike Huckabee 8.0, Bobby Jindal 8.2, Chris Christie 8.3, Rand Paul 8.4, Marco Rubio 8.8, Scott Walker 10.6, Ric Santorum 11.5, and Rick Perry second-to-last with 12.5.
Now, the infographic from Trump fans show worst Facebook grammar; Fiorina fans shine.
These are a good proxy for the intelligence of the candidates or at least of their positions (Trump may appeal to uneducated people, but he himself is not stupid). Ben Carson may come off as a bit spacey, but the man is a neurosurgeon with an M.D. from the University of Michigan. I'm not going to diss a fellow alumnus of my graduate alma mater! So I should not be surprised that he has the second smartest followers. On the other hand, Governor Goodhair is notoriously dumb, so it follows his supporters are, too. Can you say oops?
Their R alot uv stoopid peeple N Duhmerica N dey volt. (sic)
ReplyDeleteAs a former newspaper reporter (that was my first career, which included three years at small weekly papers in L'Anse, Calumet and Manistique, yah sure youse Yoopers!) I lament the orthographic ignorance of Americans. Poor spelling, ignorance in general used to be a source of shame. Now it's a point of pride, showing that someone is not an elitist egghead. And it's not just ignorant redneck mofos who think that way, as you might know, being a teacher. "Stop acting white" anybody?
Not that any black brothers and sisters were writing those wretched comments for tRump, or any of the Repiglickin candidates. (I wonder how Sanders' supporters did in the spelling bee?) There are a lot of angry, uneducated white people in Amerikkka, and they vote, if they can remember when Election Day is. I reckon it's not more than 25% of the population, but that's a substantial minority, especially when the Power Structure pays them inordinate attention (while ignoring the larger but mellow part of the populace, because what are they going to do, hold a peaceful protest march when they get shafted again?)
tRump gets a lot of notice Down Undahere. I don't know if his "You're Fired!" show aired here (it's amazing how much crap American TV is shown in Oz -- "Judge Judy" anyone?) but Aussies are aware of his toupresence. I've had several people, including patients on the psych wards, ask me if he'll be the next president.
I've got a quick rant about how many times he's declared bankruptcy, how this guy who's been married three times and cheated on all his wives is favoured by the people who wanted to crucify Clinton over a blow job, and how he makes outlandish claims about deporting all the illegal Mexicans without a clue as to how he'll round them up or pay for the police state that such an effort would require. Anyone who knows me learns quickly that if they get me started, they're in for a gutfull, as the expression goes here. Delivered with sardonic humour, of course!
I reckon tRump will flame out as soon as the "Hologram media" (did you ever read the late Joe Bageant, Pinku, who originated that phrase?) decide he no longer serves their purpose as the angry clown in the Bread and Circuses distraction show. If they could destroy an actual TALENTED candidate like Howard Dean with a single distorted sound in 2004, The Penguin should be easy to dispose of. I reckon it will be the "bully" label that does him in. The sneering way he ejected the Univision reporter could have been used to blacken the blackguard's image, if selectively edited and repeated often enough. He's every arsehole boss who ever pushed you around. There are plenty of sociopathic bullies in America, and they vote too, but I don't reckon they're good for more than 10% of the Rethug primary totals.
So you used to live in my state? Small world, even if you're now on the other side of it.
DeleteNone of the Democratic candidates' supporters were examined by Grammerly last month. I suppose that will have to wait until the first Democratic debate in October. Only one more month!
Yes, I'm quite familiar with Joe Bageant and The Hologram. One of the first entries I wrote here was an obituary, Joe Bageant is gone. I have my doubts that they can dispose of Trump as easily as you suggest. After, Faux Noise tried in the first debate and only made him stronger. I also think you underestimate how many people in the GOP electorate fit that profile or wish they did and will vote for Trump.
As for Trump's appeal to the masses, none of what you wrote really matters to the bulk of them. It's all about what Paul Krugman calls The Reactionary Soul.
"Conservatism is a reactionary movement, a defense of power and privilege against democratic challenges from below, particularly in the private spheres of the family and the workplace.
It’s really about who’s boss, and making sure that the man in charge stays boss. Trump is admired for putting women and workers in their place, and it doesn’t matter if he covets his neighbor’s wife or demands trade wars.
The point is that Trump isn’t a diversion, he’s a revelation, bringing the real motivations of the movement out into the open."